{"id":28576,"date":"2020-06-03T17:45:08","date_gmt":"2020-06-03T15:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/?p=28576"},"modified":"2020-07-28T10:54:51","modified_gmt":"2020-07-28T08:54:51","slug":"insights-helena-hedblom-ceo-epiroc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/insights-helena-hedblom-ceo-epiroc\/","title":{"rendered":"Insights From Helena Hedblom, President & CEO of Epiroc AB"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

More and more women are now leading large, multinational companies. In mining however, it remains unusual. It was therefore a particularly great pleasure to host Helena Hedblom, President & CEO of Epiroc, at the latest of our exclusive Learning From Leaders conferences. Epiroc<\/a> is a leading productivity partner for the mining, infrastructure and natural resources industries, with sales in 150 countries around the world. Leading an organization of that size takes courage and conviction, not to mention business skill. At EU Business School we believe equality in business is fundamental, and have been ranked among the best schools for female student experience.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peter Vanham, author of \u201cBefore I Was CEO\u201d, asked Helena about her career, her success as a female leader in a male-dominated industry and about navigating the current business climate in a deep dive interview. The interactive event, held virtually, saw EU students participate from their homes around the world and contribute questions to an insightful and far-reaching conversation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this blog, we\u2019ve extracted some of the highlights from Peter and Helena\u2019s conversation. You can enjoy the full event here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facing<\/strong> the Challenges of<\/strong> the COVID-19 Crisis<\/strong> <\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The mining industry moves continually through a cyclical pattern of highs and lows. Although as Helena clarified, \u201cwhen it comes to equipment it\u2019s cyclical, the actual production is stable\u201d, which gives Epiroc the stability it needs to manage low periods.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having worked in a cyclical industry for decades, Helena has experience of leading a company through good and bad times. She\u2019s confident that the company will survive the coming economic downturn, even though the change we\u2019re currently experiencing is faster than anything she\u2019s seen before; \u201cThe cyclicality in mining usually takes three years to reach the bottom and then it can quickly go up. What we\u2019ve seen now is big swings based on the health crisis so things that can take three years take two weeks.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This condensed cycle defined the response at Epiroc. They were incredibly quick to react to the spread of the virus, putting travel bans in place and setting up crisis committees in every country in which they operate. Their priority was the health of their employees. Agility was fundamental, in order to keep up with the moving epicenter of the virus. <\/strong>In a company present in 150 countries, there was a lot to keep track of.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helena had advice for leaders looking to manage the changes to business globally; \u201cAs an executive team you need to plan for different scenarios and then you just need to decide to believe in something, right or wrong, and execute according to that scenario.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Decisiveness has become a defining characteristic of Helena\u2019s leadership style. Moving fast and moving forward is essential; the paralysis of indecision can cripple a company like Epiroc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Engineering Success<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It was reassuring to hear that Helena\u2019s success does not stem from early conviction about her future career. When it came time to graduate high school, Helena was still uncertain of her path and considered several diverse careers including music, teaching and dentistry, before deciding to follow her father into engineering.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy father worked in the industry. I joined him many times at work and during dinners we had a lot of debates about the company. I really enjoyed those discussions at home, and I think that had an impact on the decision.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helena was accepted at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and became the first member of her family to go to college. Following graduation, she set out on a typical engineering career path. She took on a specialist product development role at Atlas Copco, where she would work for the next 20 years.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After several years Helena applied for a management position. \u201cI wanted to make a larger impact, that was the reason I applied. Of course, I had no clue if I was going to be successful as a leader, but you need to try.\u201d Despite resistance from her new team, Helena excelled from the start, taking a tough stance that enabled her to move forward in a male-dominated environment.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there, Helena continued to rise through the ranks at Atlas Copco. As vice president of research and development she gained an \u201cunderstanding [of] how to lead in a global context\u201d; \u201cYou have to stay close even though you are far away\u201d, she recalled. Managing teams in countries around the world was complex and she learnt to navigate the distance and the different processes and cultures. It was a period of great professional development.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it became time for her to move on again, Helena explored similar positions at other large engineering firms. However, she found the challenge she was looking for in a general manager role at one of Atlas Copco\u2019s production sites in Sweden.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was scarier, it was something completely outside of the comfort zone […] I think that was maybe the most important move I did [\u2026] into the operational flow where you feel the heat every hour.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move from the support function of research and development to operations was a significant change. Production moves fast and decisions must be made at speed, leading Helena to become results oriented. Despite the challenging move Helena continued to thrive and was promoted several times before becoming president of the division. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two weeks into a new role at the executive level of Atlas Copco, the board of directors decided to split the company into two separate entities. For the next 12 months they worked to divide businesses that had been together for 140 years. It was, she said, a tremendous experience and she learned a huge amount. Amongst many other tasks they had to create new branding, new legal processes and transfer employees between the companies across the 150 countries in which they operated. It was a massive task, one which required trust in the process and acceptance from employees that these were exceptional circumstances. Having navigated this period of incredible change and emerged as CEO of Epiroc, Helena is unusually prepared to manage the current, volatile situation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mining<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When asked by EU student Gololo what she would change about her career to date, Helena reflected; \u201cin hindsight I would have picked my battles – I have been in a couple of battles I could have avoided if I had more experience!\u201d but \u201cI never planned for a next step, I’ve always been in the job and try to do my best improving things.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an attitude that several of our guests, similarly distinguished leaders, have shared, including former chairman and CEO of Tupperware Rick Goings<\/a>, and Jean-Claude Biver<\/a>, the charismatic chairman of Hublot and Zenith watches.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through A Glass Ceiling You Can See the Sky<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Early on in her career, Helena was faced with an employee who declared; \u201cI don\u2019t want to work for a woman.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat was the first day. At the age of 26 that was a tough one. But you need to decide who is going to be the strongest and I just decided \u2018no way\u2019. I have got this position because I am competent and I will continue.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, mining was a much more male-dominated industry. \u201cIt\u2019s tough but you need to stay strong\u201d, she reflected. However, now it\u2019s a different picture; \u201cThe technology shift we\u2019re in the middle of with automation, electrification, digitalization, I think it can attract different people today than maybe 20 or 30 years ago when mines were still dark and dangerous. Today it is high tech, we are putting 5G underground, we are running fully autonomous machines. That\u2019s exciting stuff and I think it attracts a broader and more diverse workforce.<\/strong>\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Helena started out, she was often the only woman in the room. Her strategy for thriving in that environment was to turn being different, being a woman, into an advantage.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was particularly fascinated by mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Although not within her remit, she frequently asked to take part.  \u201cI liked the strategic challenge around M&A [\u2026] I’m a curious person, I like to learn, so I really liked that.\u201d In M&A, having conducted the due diligence necessary before a takeover, the team would vote on whether to proceed. Driven by her commitment to herself to be honest and share her opinion, Helena was often the only person to vote no. Helena reflected: \u201cI had different views, different angles [\u2026] my manager at that time saw that I was questioning things and that I came with a different perspective and I think that helped me to get the positions I got afterwards.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When, inevitably, some ventures did not work as hoped, she directed conversation to\u00a0reflect on\u00a0the errors they\u2019d made and\u00a0asked,\u00a0\u2018What can we learn?\u2019 It was not a popular\u00a0approach\u00a0but has\u00a0informed Helena\u2019s unflinching and honest leadership style, getting\u00a0her to where she is today.\u00a0And diversity and inclusion\u00a0is\u00a0now high on the agenda, Helena\u00a0reassured the audience;\u00a0\u201cIt is turning [\u2026] everyone understands the benefit of inclusion and diversity.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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